Why Do The Atlanta Falcons Blow A Train Horn When They Score?

With no Saints football to listen to or watch yesterday, I found myself in the noman's land of football fandom. I was forced to watch teams I really don't care about or care for in the case of the Atlanta Falcons. Yesterday the Falcons were playing the Arizona Cardinals. I realize the game had no importance or any playoff implications. For me, a person who doesn't like to get agitated by sports it was the perfect game to have on the television.

At least I thought it was the perfect game until the darn Falcons started scoring a lot of points. That's when I noticed that every time they score they, the Atlanta faithful, blow a really loud and obnoxious train horn.

At first, I thought this was an homage to Georgia Tech. The Atlanta based university known for its engineering prowess is also known for a giant steam whistle. This whistle is blown at specific times to keep the student body on time as far as class schedules go. But that's not the reason for the Falcons iconic irritation.

The reason for the train horn is actually in recognition of a piece of Atlanta history. It is now a part of Falcon's lore because of the city of Atlanta relationship with the railroad. The city was once known as Marthasville and earned the nickname Terminus. Because that was where the railroad line terminated.

So the Falcons are simply paying their respects to the history of the city that they call home. So much for my theory that the horn was in place just to keep fans awake during Falcons games. I guess to each his own. Maybe the Saints could get a steamboat whistle to blast everytime they score? Nah, that wouldn't work you couldn't hear it over the throngs of cheering Saints fans anyway.